why-is-act-graded-36

Why is the ACT graded out of 36? This seems so arbitrary.

There’s really no good answer to this question. But if you think about it, the out-of-1600 scale for the SAT is equally as arbitrary. There’s no reason why the ACT chose “36” as their golden number, but it doesn’t matter. Just get the best score you possibly can and you’ll be good to go!